Don’t be fooled by the ironed suit and the fitted slacks. We often put ourselves down by thinking that everyone around us has his or her life “figured out.” This puts us in a position where we are constantly losing sight of our own unique contributions and attributes. When it comes down to it, whether you wear a suit and tie to work or a bright yellow construction jacket, we are all just soulful human beings trying to figure out some kind of meaningful purpose blinded by society’s expectations of what success truly entails. When one realizes this inalienable truth, everything comes into reach and nothing is impossible or far-reaching. 
That’s the mentality I came in with at the start of this internship and it fueled the energy that I brought with me to my internship at the Department of Justice. I read an article published in Harvard Business Review about how the entrepreneurial spirit is far more important than the actual entrepreneur. If you don’t have the inkling and urge to constantly try to make a difference and change the inequalities around you, it does not matter if you are equipped to do so or not. If you have the spirit within you, the logistics and technical aspects will fall into place. Exchanging my plaid shirt and salmon-colored shorts for a striped suit and khakis, my mindset never changed. I knew why I was there and what I was working toward. I was there to make a substantive difference and gain real world experience that I could harness and bring back with me. However, the larger part of why I was there was to help other people realize that Sikhs, 700,000 plus strong in America, cannot and will not be excluded from government and decision-making agencies any longer. We are here to make a name for ourselves. That mindset, regardless of the external professionalism and sophistication that I was encouraged to bring with me, remained the same and was only enhanced by seeing the lack of representation of Sikhs in government. These past two months have been transformative for me. By being able to work on substantive projects at my internship, I have found that I really can make a difference. Self-assuredness is not only necessary, but it’s a pre-requisite to success. Never have I felt more empowered by the thought of being serious; more empowered by the thought of taking my life by the reins and realizing that I am not always going to be given a fair shot. 
What enriched my experience and provided the seasoning to a rather work-filled summer were the relationships I forged with my fellow SikhLEAD interns. So often we talk about the concept of “sangat” in a very elusive manner. Never has its definition become so apparent to me than during this summer. Anywhere from discussing gender linguistics in the context of the definition of “Kaur” and “Singh” to strolling all the halls of the Church of Scientology, I would never trade this team for any other. We embarked on a spiritual journey together, one that will help direct and steer our life’s purpose and vision. We networked together, pushed each other to do better, challenged one another, and most importantly realized the importance of activism together. Walking around the nation’s capital with a turban on my head and a kara on my wrist was the first time I truly felt what it meant to be a “Singh.” Although the struggle might be different on a surface-level, defending the tenets of our faith is a timeless struggle, one that underlies both the physical battles the Guru’s endured back then and the more opaque battles we face today. I realize the dire need for Sikh representation in places where decisions and policy are being formed for the rest of the nation. SikhLEAD is a leap in the right direction and I am glad that I could have been part of such an experience. I’m starting to realize how to turn a moment into a movement.
–Manjot Singh